New York - Exclusive Bar for the Excluded.
"My mother is becoming increasingly insistent and unbearable. She wants me to find a good match and get married to maintain the family line... arhgg!!!'
"Old witch, as if it were that easy... Hey Max, are you listening to me?"
"Yes, yes, I'm listening to you, a handsome man from a good family and rich, just what you've always been asking for."
"Exactly, is that too much to ask?"
"It's difficult to meet all those conditions, tell me when you met someone like that...!!!"
Max suddenly shut his mouth and took a sip of his beer. His piercings, earrings, and accessories were completely different from when he first met William.
"Wait, why did you suddenly fall silent? Do you know someone like that..."
Max looked away at his friend's question. Nort Spencer, with her short blonde hair, looked like a very feminine tomboy.
"He's too young for you and he has a girlfriend. Forget about him."
"I don't mind waiting a few more years, and I think I'm attractive enough to compete for him."
Nort adjusted her baseball jacket, making her attractive curves even more evident.
"I won't let you get your claws on him... speaking of the King of Rome!"
The vibration of his phone interrupted Max's words.
"This is the first time you've called me. What's going on? Do you need my help with something?"
"Sorry to bother you, Max. I was wondering if you know a group called TACS." - William -
"Give me a moment, Will. I'll call you back." - Max -
"Take me to the office, Nort." - Max -
"Forget it, what a pain." - Nort -
"I'll introduce you to the guy you're interested in." - Max -
"You should have started with that." - Nort -
Nort smiled with satisfaction, finished his drink in one gulp and placed his hand on Max's shoulder.
*Pufff!!*
Both girls disappeared from the bar in a puff of black smoke.
5 minutes later - Fangs Headquarters (FANG)
"Here it is. They call themselves a free society dedicated to preserving and conserving ancient artefacts from unworthy hands."
"Preserve?"
"Nonsense, they're a criminal group dedicated to stealing relics and artefacts from various organisations. Their latest theft was from the home of a millionaire, where they killed 25 fully armed security guards and stole two items from his private collection."
"Their list of crimes includes robbery, murder, and a long list of others, which explains the sudden curiosity about them."
Max lay down on his wooden desk as he slid the mouse across the screen of his military-grade laptop, which had better specifications than any other on the market and access to the database of the Military Agency to which he belonged.
"Isn't that confidential information? Didn't you say he was a minor?"
Nort raised an eyebrow doubtfully as his long legs rested on the glass table and his backside on a large brown leather sofa.
"His father was with the Umbra Squad and has the full support of the commander and Andreus."
Max ignored Nort's complaint, his cheek still pressed against the desk.
"The captain? Wow, maybe he is a good match."
Nort suddenly sat up straight in his seat. If his father knew the commander, his family must be important.
"Match? She's your friend, Max. You haven't introduced me to her."
William's voice came from Max's phone. The call was put on speaker so she wouldn't have to hold the phone to her ear.
"Don't pay any attention to the desperate one. Now tell me why you're interested in them."
"Let's just say I had a little mishap with them."
"You're in trouble. Do you need support right away?"
Max quickly stood up, the dozens of silver and gold daggers adorning the wall behind her floating in the air.
"Don't worry, I've already taken care of them. It's easier to deal with them knowing they're criminals."
William on the other end of the phone smiled, he could sense Max's concern for his safety.
*Crunch*
"Sorry."
Nort apologised, the crunching of the crisps in his hands detracting from the seriousness of the matter.
Max gave him the middle finger before sitting down again, the dozens of daggers settling back into place.
"If you don't want help, do you need support dealing with the aftermath, cleaning up the bodies?"
"Is it inconvenient for you? I don't want to involve a friend in my problems."
William hesitated. His original idea was to ask his family for help. They attacked first, and William's actions were considered self-defence.
"Don't worry, most of my job is dealing with guys like these, and yours have a high price on their heads."
"Money!"
Nort stood up, threw his crisps on the table and walked behind Max to watch the screen.
"Tell me the names of those involved, their skills and their weapons, then I'll take care of the rest."
Max threw a tablet at Nort.
"You want me to write the report? What a pain."
"We'll give you a share of the reward."
"Cough, fine, start at the beginning."
When he heard the word "money," Nort stopped grumbling and got to work. The report would be sent to his captain, who would decide how to deal with those involved. Of course, the name William would be removed from the official records, both on paper and in any digital records.
20 minutes later - Lake of the Fireflies.
"It's him. He's handsome and apparently quite skilled." - Nort -
"He's stronger than he was a few months ago. Dealing with four TACS members at once is at least an A-rank." - Max -
"Although he had the help of an unusual beast." -Nort -
Nort surveyed the surroundings, the ground burnt to charcoal, dozens of trees cleanly felled, and the strong smell of blood still lingering in the air.
"Will, any injuries?"
Max walked to the edge of the lake where William was sitting on a log, looking as perfect as ever, but the large cuts in his shirt and small burn marks showed that a few moments ago, he wasn't just looking at the moon.
"No, I thought you'd be later, I was getting ready to spend the night here."
"A friend brought me, Nort."
William nodded and stood up, he was taller than Max.
"What happens now? Do you need my help?"
"It won't be necessary. Go to sleep. All that's left is to wait for the commander's verdict. She'll decide how to proceed with them."
"I'll take your word for it. Here, take these."
William threw four gold coins at Max. They were all intact, identity marks for each member of the society.
"Bye, Max. Let's go out to eat another day. It's on me."
"Sure, an expensive restaurant."
William smiled amusedly, placed both hands on his shoulders, and soon his figure changed into a huge harpy eagle. He disappeared into the darkness of the night after taking flight.
"Weren't you too informal with him?"
"It doesn't matter. How are the other guys?"
"The identities of three of them have been confirmed. The problem is that Shape-Shifter still looks like a girl, and there are no women with that appearance among the registered members."
Nort glanced at the bodies of the people behind her and then handed Max a tablet.
Name - Elliott Dish - Excluded - Man of Clay
Registered Abilities - Regeneration, Immunity to Firearms and Bladed Weapons, Expert Swordsman, Momentary Acceleration.
Name - Yukio Ivanov - Excluded - Feather
Registered Abilities - Levitation, Expert Sniper, Firearm Mastery, Putrefaction. (It is recommended to avoid any type of injury from her.)
Name - Cayous Talon - Excluded - Talos
Registered Abilities - Near-perfect Physical Invulnerability, Super Strength. (Caution - 30 mm bullets from an AH 65 Apache helicopter proved unable to penetrate his armour, proceed with caution.)
"Impressive that he took down all four at once without any injuries. Just the clay man is already a big problem if you don't have special fire with you."
"Not to mention the Talos' bronze armour, it's the first time I've seen anyone pierce it."
Nort crossed her arms thoughtfully. She had many doubts about what had happened, but she didn't ask William too many questions. She just listened to his version of events.
"This is what happens when you combine impressive weapons with a person with abilities far superior to the rest. They almost seem designed to kill things stronger than humans." - Max -
"What kind of weapon could do this to a Talos?" - Nort -
Nort bent down and picked up some ash with her fingers. Normal fire wouldn't be able to do this, let alone soften the armour of a Talos.
"One made of mithril."
Nort opened his eyes in surprise. His father also had a mithril weapon and considered it the most valuable object in his house, more important than his own life. It was a dagger with a slight coating on the blade. If he knew that William's spear was 90% pure, he would have a heart attack.
*Vibrate*
"Yes, Commander."
Max answered the call immediately and subconsciously straightened his posture, his voice reflecting respect.
"The sentence is... execution." - Max -
"Understood, I will carry it out immediately." - Max -
Max nodded to Nort. Without hanging up the call with his commander, Nort stood up and took the Grand Power K100 from its holster at his waist, checked the bullet in the chamber and checked the magazine.
After nodding to Max, she fired the 9 mm Parabellum rounds directly into Elliott's head.
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
The Clay Man was still alive, as were Yukio and Noah. The serious wounds William had inflicted on them were treated with a few drops of the emerald liquid William found in Yukio's pocket. A few drops were enough to keep them alive.
Elliott could only let out muffled cries from his dry, cracked lips, from which blood was still dripping. He begged for mercy.
Five shots to the head. If Elliott had been in the same condition as at the start of the fight with William, this would have been nothing to him, but in his current state, his head burst like a watermelon.
"Elliot Dish, Value One million dollars."
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
"Yukio Ivanov, worth one million five hundred thousand dollars. I bet most of the reward was offered by Russia after your disaster."
Nort smiled with some amusement before giving the black-haired, blue-eyed girl the same treatment Elliot had received.
"What about Noah?"
Nort hesitated; there was nothing about him in the FANG database.
"The commander said that a TACS coin is sufficient confirmation."
"Okay."
*Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang* *Bang*
Nort repeated the same process, four bullets to the head and one to the heart.
"Now try to identify the body." - Max -
"We've got it, Wilson Cubert, 70 years old... hahaha, how funny that he still looked young just moments before dying." - Nort -
Nort couldn't resist laughing. Thirty-year-old Noah Brayan and 23-year-old Valerie Scott were nothing more than flesh costumes for the wrinkled, white-haired old man.
"What about the body of the unusual beast? I searched around and found nothing but claw marks and some fur." - Nort -
"Will should have taken care of it. Now we just have to wait for the cleaning crew and we're done." - Max -
"Some very well-paid overtime. Are you sure it's okay to accept 15% of the reward just for doing this? I feel like we're ripping the lad off." - Nort -
Nort changed the magazine in his pistol. After fifteen shots, he only had two bullets left.
"Will's family is rich, and he said he didn't know anything about a reward. He planned to dig a hole and throw the bodies in it." - Max -
"Oh, and where is he? You said you'd introduce me to him."
"..."
"Max!!!"
"Next time, don't make so much noise!"